Mardi Gras! Why not start with a New Orleans favorite like Hey PockyWway. Brent has just been on another level since 1988 IMO, so it’s great to see him start off a show. He also debuted Just ALittle Light which would eventually come into its own. The show was much like the previous two, where it started out hot, and kind of coasted the rest of the way through. This one even included a total train wreck at the beginning of Victim, but I like the tempo they settled on eventually, very trance like. The Mardi Gras parade is always super fun. I ran into the parade face-to-face in the small hallways right before they were about to emerge at the beginning of the second set - the good times were about to roll. And now the rest of the story: my friends, Austin and Rob, and I drove back to Los Angeles that night, only to be forced off the freeway at the Grapevine because it was closed due to snow! I think Rob wound up missing a midterm because of that. After sleeping on the floor of a truckstop Burger King, we had to drive all the way up and around by San Luis Obispo and then down the coast to get back to UCLA. Classic.

Skip this one. Garcia sounds very bad mostly, both vocally and on guitar, and nodody else is really doing that well either. Plus the new songs have teething troubles, so pretty much a train wreck. Also the SBD is very uneven, with jerry croaking up front very scratchy.

Sound quality of this source is much improved over the other SBD, thx Charlie! Laid back but very well played show. Highlights IMO are all the Jerry ballads - Loser, SOTM, Heaven's Door. Foolish Heart is also a personal fav and this version rocks. Enjoy!

Chinese New Years shows are amongst my favorite of the 'holiday' gigs. And the quality of this recording is stellar. So too the performance. The band was in top form as the entered 89 and the 25th anniv year. However, I'm struck by Bobby's decision to follow-up a spirited Aiko with Victim. Is it me, or is there something perverse about playing that tune after the parade and celebration?

BECAUSE it's Mardi Gras night at the beloved HJK.
Swirling parade of decorations, dancers, Chineese dragon procession in between sets. My first west coast show, walked around the lake and stumbled into the HJK adorned in decorations and sick speakers all over the hallways.
Finally to appreciate "Phil bombs" in such an intimate venue amoungst the stoked out hometown fans. Never saw those tricked-out Cali school buses back east, they couldn't fit under the older hgwy bridges I was told.

I agree with Ernie Bo-Peep. Great C Miller sound but compared to the super shows of 89 this is just average. The weirdest start to Iko I've ever heard. That's the thing I love most about the Grateful Dead. You never know what to expext.

Folger's Coffee Jingle Tease before SIOMWTMBA

Show was/is good with some highlights/breakouts here and there. Three skulls to be on the modest side but feel free to enjoy and rate higher.